“Leon Vitali was a rising British television actor when Stanley Kubrick picked him for a role in Barry Lyndon. Vitali resolved to work for the director and took on every job available, eventually becoming the restorer of Kubrick’s films. The documentary profiles the devoted Vitali as he recounts his days with the notoriously meticulous, volatile, and obsessive director.” —Telluride Film Festival

“Filmworker is a portrait of an unsung hero, a revealing look at how Kubrick’s films were made and a psychological sketch of a would-be da Vinci determined to keep dusting and polishing someone else’s Sistine Chapel.” —Rolling Stone

“Cinema would be much the poorer without Stanley Kubrick’s legacy, but Filmworker emphatically proves that Kubrick’s legacy would be much the poorer without Leon Vitali.” —The Playlist

“Watching Filmworker as a cinephile, it's easy to be awed by the Zen-like devotion of Vitali’s life’s work. But it's also possible to be simultaneously filled with rage at the way people like him are simply left to run endlessly on their hamster wheels.” —NPR

Director’s Statement
“As Kubrick aficionados, we were well aware of Leon Vitali: assistant to the director. We admired his great performances in Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut and we knew he had been a key member of Kubrick’s inner circle for many years. When we finally met Leon through our work on another related project, we were struck by his kindness, humility and the fascinating scope of his story. Here was a man who had been a successful actor at a young age, but had given up his high-profile, glamorous life to work tirelessly behind-the-scenes for Kubrick. What compelled him to make such an unusual, self-sacrificing choice? Filmworker explores the bittersweet consequences of Leon’s life-changing decision, and the fierce exhilaration of working closely with one of the most brilliant yet demanding artists in cinema history.” —Tony Zierra